Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a secondary or “bonus” game that may be played in conjunction with a “base” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the base game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome in the base game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the base game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio. Bonus games may additionally award players with “progressive jackpot” awards that are funded, at least in part, by a percentage of coin-in from the gaming machine or a plurality of participating gaming machines. The bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games and is attractive to both players and operators. Still, there is a continuing need to develop gaming machines with new functions and features to satisfy the demands of players and operators.
One attempt to develop gaming machines with new functions and features involves adding a secondary display to the gaming machine. Gaming machines historically have only one display unit for displaying the base and any bonus games. A secondary display expands the range of possible new functions and features that may be implemented on the gaming machine. The secondary display may be mounted in the gaming machine by installing it in an upper section of the gaming machine, called a “top box.” Such a top box may have different shapes, sizes, themes, and so forth, and may house different types of displays (e.g., CRT, LCD, transmissive display, etc.) depending on the particular design of the gaming machine.
The top box must allow access to the secondary display for maintenance and repair purposes without having to remove the entire top box. To this end, a door or hatch is typically mounted adjacent to the top box, usually on the front wall thereof. Repair and maintenance may then be performed on the secondary display via the door or hatch. The door or hatch typically has a locking mechanism that prevents unauthorized access to the gaming machine. A person may unlock the locking mechanism by operating a release mechanism located in the main body of the gaming machine (e.g., underneath the button panel of the gaming machine).
However, connecting a release mechanism in the main body of the gaming machine to a locking mechanism in the top box presents certain manufacturing challenges. For one thing, assembly of the gaming machine is made more difficult because the release mechanism must be manually connected to the locking mechanism at some point during the assembly (it is not practical to connect the two components ahead of time). This is exacerbated by the fact that the top box, cabinet, and any hatch door release mechanisms are often located in the same area and attached to the same release handle. Also, decisions regarding which type of top box to use must be made well in advance to ensure compatibility between any locking mechanism and release mechanism required. Thus, a need exists for a gaming machine with a locking mechanism that does not require manual connection to a release mechanism and can also be mounted or installed independently of the release mechanism (i.e., preinstalled). The present invention is directed to satisfying one or more of these needs and solving other problems as well.